NLM announces summer exhibition, Data Nation, Opening June 2
Just in time for the summer season and as ever-increasing public attention swells around ChatGPT and other forms of AI, the National Liberty Museum announced their headline exhibition for 2023, Data Nation: Democracy in the Age of AI, which will officially open to the public on June 2, 2023, and will be on view until October 30, 2023. Visitors will experience visually stunning and immersive installations, topical interactives, and provocative artworks to consider the forces at play in our everyday technology and how they intersect with democratic norms and values, such as free speech, assembly, and free and fair elections. Visitors will come away with a stronger understanding of their own role as digital citizens as they ponder the question, what are the perils and possibilities brought by the age of AI?
“Democracies depend on the free exchange of ideas, and rapid advances in technology mean we communicate faster and farther than ever before in human history. Data Nation explores the impact of data-driven communications technologies on our democracy and the liberties it protects,” said Dr. Elizabeth Grant, Chief Program Officer of the National Liberty Museum. “With the help of our partners, we’re thrilled to provide visitors with this highly topical exhibition that invites visitors to reflect on their own social and personal liberties in today’s digital age and beyond.”
Data Nation comes together through a collaboration of artists, academics, and technologists. Landau Design’s 20-foot motion graphic wall brings the impact of data and AI to the forefront of this exhibition. The wall places AI in the context of similar moments of technological innovation, from the printing press to the radio to the internet, and the social and political disruptions and innovations that followed. The Center for Immersive Media at University of the Arts uses soundscapes and visuals to construct a real-world echo chamber, mimicking the impact of algorithms. Artists from local arts collective Vox Populi synthesize the abstract topics explored in the exhibition with the element of human touch to the story of technology in the age of AI.
Through bold data visualizations, Data Nation opens discourse around questions and concerns over digital disruptions to democratic norms and freedoms. Visitors will explore the positive and negative impacts of technology through the lens of fundamental liberties to show them the power behind their every click, snap, and chat.
Data Nation will be accompanied by a rich line-up of topical programs and events timed with Juneteenth and the July 4th holiday season.
